This year is ramping up to be a big year for the U.S. healthcare and political landscapes.
Providers are looking to have more of a say in healthcare policymaking and an increasing number of physicians are seeking election to the U.S. Congress.
Here are four spine and orthopedic surgeons launching campaigns for the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2020.
Neurosurgeon and conservative Republican John Cowan, MD, is campaigning for the U.S. House of Representatives. Dr. Cowan is seeking election to the 14th Congressional District, which includes 14 counties in northwest Georgia.
Republican Knute Buehler, MD, is seeking to replace Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. Dr. Buehler, an orthopedic surgeon at Bend, Ore.-based The Center: Orthopedic & Neurosurgery Care and Research, represented Bend in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019.
Orthopedic surgeon Al Gross, MD, is running as an independent, challenging Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. Dr. Gross' campaign focuses on tackling high healthcare costs in Alaska and balancing Medicare by negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to redirect funds from drug companies to providers.
Orthopedic trauma surgeon Manny Sethi, MD, is running for Tennessee's open U.S. Senate seat. Dr. Sethi, a conservative Republican and founder of nonprofit Healthy Tennessee in Nashville, is focusing on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act and combating the opioid epidemic.